Easter Sunday

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Easter holidays and I am itching to get out of Auckland. With Mum away in India, Bals on holiday in the UK, Anshu and Arun busy with baby Aryan and no sign still of hubby (today it is exactly 5 mths since he left and still no idea when he's coming - pretty depressing.) Anyway not one to dwell on things to the point of insanity I decide to go for a drive and Anshu has decided to join me - something about it being a birthday treat! Dad joins us as well and of we go.

The weather is pretty awful. It pours heavily as we leave Auckland and we are all silently wondering is its going to get an better - we carry on. As we approach Whangarei the skies turn blue and we are cooking soon enough. Loving the blue skies!

We stop and get some fish and kumara chips for lunch and sit and enjoy our lunch with a bottle of wine at the Whangarei Falls (The picturesque Whangarei Falls is 26.3 metres high and falls over steep basalt cliffs. The area is known as Otuihau to local iwi and was a good eeling spot). Dad & Anshu start walking down to the falls while I pack up the car 😉. We meet at the bottom and take in the scenery.

Next we head off to Whangarei Heads - passing Abbey Caves along the way. We unanimously agree the the drive to Whangarei Heads is too long and decide to do a U-Turn and head for the Abbey Caves - pretty spooky caves.
A bit of info relating to the caves - The Organ Cave is the largest of the caves where in the main Catacomb you will see the large over hanging stalactites which look similar to church organ pipes. Middle Cave and Ivy Cave are smaller but equally interesting where it is possible to enter and exit at different points. In all the Caves you will see thousands of glow worms. The surrounding landscape is scattered with giant limestone rocks that date back millions of years. The magnificent Rock Forest with its massive limestone boulders entwined with the ancient Puriri trees is a must see.
All very interesting but we were not equiped with the right gear as we had no idea they existed - this place requires a return trip with torches, maps & correct footwear.

Last and final stop is Marsden Point - we spend some time walking along the beach before heading back to Auckland.

What a lovely day is was :D

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